Cavagna Sangiuliani di Gualdana, Antonio, conte (1843-1913) | Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Born in Alessandria, Italy on August 15, 1843, Antonio Cavagna was adopted by his cousin Antonio Sangiuliani, Count of Balbiano, in 1853, and he added the surname to his own. Sangiuliani fought for Italian unification in the 1866 campaign and was discharged as a Second Lieutenant. He obtained a degree in law from the University of Rome in 1871 and managed his estates in the region of Pavia, serving in various public offices including municipal councilor and mayor.

A public official, book collector, and an expert on the history of both the Lombardy and Piedmont regions in northern Italy, Sangiuliani researched local history and published roughly two hundred works. His first publication in 1865 highlighted the medieval Sant'Alberto di Brutio abbey, and he maintained a large interest in the Italian Middle Ages.

His library contained tens of thousands of books on subjects ranging from local genealogy to law to Italian history, and his collection also included incunables. He established the Pavese Historical Bulletin in 1893 and the Pavese Society of Homeland History in 1901. Sangiuliani married twice and had four children. He died in Milan on April 5, 1913.

Massabo, Isabella Ricci. "Cavagna Sangiuliani, Antonio," in Biographical Dictionary of Italians, Vol. 22, 1979, https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/antonio-cavagna-sangiuliani_(Dizionario-Biografico)/. Accessed 28 September 2020.

Romano, Giacinto. "Count Antonio Cavagna Sangiuliani," in the Bulletin of the Pavese Society of Homeland History, Pavia, Fusi, 1913, pp. 218-225.

Sangiuliani, Antonio Cavagna. "Of the Abbey of S. Alberto di Butrio and the Monastery of S. Maria della Pieta  known as the Rosary, in Voghera, province of Pavia." Historical Illustrations, Milan, Agnelli Typography, 1865.